


(Not so) far from the stars

by brokenstereotype



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Cotton Candy Fluff, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-29
Updated: 2018-06-29
Packaged: 2019-05-30 16:40:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15100829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brokenstereotype/pseuds/brokenstereotype
Summary: Zayn fishes for the stars that Niall sends soaring into the night sky.





	(Not so) far from the stars

**Author's Note:**

> I couldn't think of a name to call where they live so it's just called home.

The lake of stars at the outskirts of home is beautiful at night.

It’s just as scenic during the day; a swirl of pinks and oranges at the earliest of moments and a parade of blues and whites at its prime. But nighttime is when the stars show their beauty and twinkle seductively to anyone who will appreciate.

Not many indulge in the night life around home. There’s no real reason to, not with the daylight bringing joy and celebration to every face you pass as they revel with fresh warm bread and fruity drinks laced with spirits.

The night brings quiet and sleep and the quiet whispers of children being recited beautiful stories from home times ago. There’s no need for make believe or glorified tales. Home is already enough.

Niall appreciates the silent beauty of the night.

The daylight brings laugh lines out around his eyes and he enjoys the energy that makes his toes tap along with the music of wooden instruments. He sings and smiles and writes odes to home on his instrument made from a slab of wood, leaves and rubber.

The night welcomes his fatigue from the day, settles his lingering buzz with inky blackness that silences everything and holds the vulnerability of home in its palms.

At the edge of the lake, there’s a bank of stardust that glows almost transparent along the shore. The stars greet him with winks and not for the first time does he wish he could live amongst them in tranquility.

He scoops a handful of stardust in his hand and sets about to line up a dozen little two inch balls along the shore in a neat line.

Even though there’s no distinguishable scent in the air, he imagines it to smell like peace and alignment. He breathes in deep and feels his bones sigh happily with the slow exhale.

His partner in crime to these nightly endeavors is an implement made by his own hands with a thick branch as the handle and a flat slab as the base, vines twining it all wonderfully together. It’s been his extra limb at night for as long as he can remember stumbling amongst the lake of stars all those days and night’s ago.

He lines up at the ball furthest to the right, lining up as if he has a focus point. Usually, he likes to imagine that the stars cheer for him, encourage him and shine for him. He imagines doing something he loves and enjoys and home being proud of him because he took a chance and showed everyone that you don’t have to be scared of the dark because even in silence, there’s beauty and life to be cherished.

The fist swing of the club breaks through the silence of the night, sending the sparkling ball of stardust across the lake of stars. He watches amazed as the ball glides passed its spectators, landing with a quick bright flash of white as it settles amongst the stars.  
Niall pits his hand up to his forehead, as if to see further than he needs to.

 _“And the crowd goes wild! Woooooo!”_ He mock screams, raising his hand in a wave at his imagined audience. It brings a smile to his face, because even if it’s only in his head, nobody but the stars are present to judge.

The next shot goes much the same and he revels in the stretch of his shoulder from the healthy swing. He aims the next at a lonesome star off to the left, willing to provide it company. He overshoots by a mile and frowns at where he can see the distant glow of the ball.

By the time he’s hit the rest of his lineup, he’s pleasantly tired and sated.

He blows a kiss to the lake of stars, bidding them goodnight, even though he’s reluctant to leave.

There’s a tree sitting off the end of the shore that he sometimes likes to lean against whilst plucking at the strings of his instrument during the day. He goes to rest against it now, leaning his head back against the trunk and splaying his legs out in front of him. The club rests on the ground next to his legs and he runs the tips of his fingers along the vines of its spine adoringly.

Some time has passed before he hears soft footsteps and Niall looks around until he spots a figure walking down to the shore.

He recognizes him, Zayn, the beautiful boy who sometimes sings along with Niall when he’s not drawing in a notebook with pieces of charcoal he collects from the bakery.

Niall leans forward, intrigued by the lakes newest admirer. There’s something dangling between his fingers; a rolled up leaf of some sort that has smoke spiraling from the tip. Niall recalls seeing elders rolling what looked to dirt and something potent smelling from a baggie in a similar leaf fashion. He imagines its something they use during the day to keep their spirits up and smiles on faces like most of them do with the laced drinks.

Zayn inhales at hit of the smoke and lets it pour out of his mouth. Niall watches, entranced as the smoke dances across the lake and greets the stars. The stars seem to say hello back as they twinkle and shine.

Niall crawls to his knees as he sees Zayn take a seat at the edge of the shore, looking as if he belongs there. Now that Niall has stopped watching the smoke, he can see a longer stick sitting comfortably next to Zayn's thigh. He picks it up with sure fingers and then Niall sees a net made from thread attached to the end.

He wants to stomp over and demand to know what he is planning to do with stars, but the way Zayn watches them and how the stars blink back at him, he finds himself crawling forward just a few steps so that he’s still out of sight but has a better view.

The tool in Zayn's hand looks well crafted; sizeable branch dotted with smudges of charcoal, handle on the side that looks sturdy and smooth, the net swaying in the breeze.

Zayn inhales another hit and then puts out the burning tip with the pad of his finger, tucking the rolled leaf behind his ear. He straightens his back and hooks the tool over his shoulder.

Niall watches with wide eyes as Zayn flicks his wrist and the net goes sailing across the lake, more graceful and weightless than when Niall shoots the balls. The net seems to float down until it envelopes a star, cradling it inside of its soft confines.

Zayn twists at the handle on the side of the tool, reeling the net back in slowly and carefully. The stars seem to cheer for him, much like they do for Niall, as the net returns to its place at the end of the tool with a ball of stardust gleaming like a prize.

Niall feels a tightness in his throat. Zayn carefully picks the ball out of the net and sets it down next to him. He’s smiling, soft tilt to his mouth that looks relaxed and genuine. The black smudges of his eyelashes caress his cheeks like a hug and the stars seem to vibrate in anticipation.

It’s beautiful and Niall doesn’t know if he’s talking about the stars or Zayn. They seem to be perfect for each other. There’s a saying about that, right? Too much beauty can make the world go blind? Niall's afraid to blink should that happen.

After a while, Zayn relights the rolled leaf with a match and piece of gravel. If Niall closes his eyes, he can smell the rich earthy and almost sweet smell when the smoke comes his way.

He doesn’t know what possesses him to stand, but sure enough, he’s walking over to where Zayn is sitting, knees bent and the tool laying across his feet.  
Niall's club is in his own hand and the stars seem to beam at his reappearance.

Zayn's head tilts to the side and he watches with careful eyes as Niall approaches. His gaze drops to the club in Niall's hand and his eyebrows seem intrigued by the foreign object. He takes an inhale from the leaf, but exhales away from Niall respectfully.

Niall stops next to him, scuffing the toe of his shoe in the star dust. He feels nervous in the way Zayn always makes him feel because he intimidates Niall with his beauty and his wisdom and intelligence but also for the fact that the stars know his deepest secrets, wishes and fears and they gaze up at them adoringly.

“I didn’t know anybody else came here.” Niall admits. His voice sounds too loud in the still night air and he clears his throat regretfully.

Zayn looks up at him and Niall swallows so that he doesn’t choke on the warmth that floods his belly. During the day, surrounded by the bright daylight, Zayn's eyes are this glazed honey trap that make him look young and fragile. But now, where the stars reflect in the soft caramel of his eyes, he looks powerful and ethereal.

He fits perfectly with the stars and Niall doesn’t know how he hasn’t thought of that before.

“It’s quiet.” Zayn says like a sigh. He sounds thankful and proud. Niall nods in agreement because he knows. Even during the day, Zayn is more often sat against the wall of a building in the shade, watching absently about as if he wishes he were somewhere else.

“I – uh, do you want me to go? I didn’t mean to interrupt.” Niall suddenly feels like he’s intruding, swinging his club in the opposite way if the shore, back where his mother is asleep and the town sways with lullabies of sleep.

Zayn speaks around a mouthful of smoke, “Whassat?” He nods to the club.

Niall brings it to his chest with a pet of his hand. He wants to shrug it off, feeling embarrassed momentarily, but this is Zayn and he doesn’t laugh at Niall. He sings and laughs and drinks with Niall. He catches the stars that Niall sends into the lake.

“It’s a bat, or a club? I haven’t really named it.” He lies. Zayn barely even raises his eyebrow before Niall caves. “Okay, fine. It’s a Star Shooter and it does exactly what it sounds like.” He says with his chin raised high, daring him to laugh at Niall in front of the stars.

But Zayn just looks impressed, taking in the vines and scuffs at the base from many uses. Niall feels a splash of delight warm his cheeks and he’s smiling wide and unabashed at where Zayn's still sitting, face open and soft and so beautiful. Niall wants to laugh, bubbles of giggles popping in his tummy and up his throat but he keeps then at bay.

“Did ya' make that, then?” Niall asks, pointing to the tool laying content like a pet companion at Zayn's feet. At the mention of it, Zayn grazes his fingers along the shaft and picks it up to rest across his lap instead.

“My Grandad, actually.” He says, tone reminiscent and delicate. “We used to catch falling leaves together when he could no longer walk. He used to tell me that if you catch something and let it go, it'll be more likely to come back to you.” He speaks with emotion, but he looks out across the lake as if he’s told this to the stars plenty of times.

“It’s beautiful.” Niall says. He doesn’t know what else to say. He’s never had to deal with the death of a loved one because his family had always been small, just he and his mother. His grandparents had long since died before he was born. The way Zayn speaks, it sounds as if it had made him stronger as a person, more appreciative of what the dark offers, what the silence of the night tell to you.

It’s quiet for a few moments, the both of them watching the lake and breathing easy. Zayn sniffs and shuffles to stand on his feet. He bends to pick up his tool and tucks the tiny end of the burnt out leaf in the pocket of his pants.

Niall thinks he’s about to leave and it feels wrong but he won’t pressure Zayn to stay if he doesn’t want to. The stars seem to be waiting on baited breath as Niall is.

Zayn looks at Niall, eyes trailing along his face, down passed his shoulders and stopping at the club held in his palm. He looks back to the stars as if for advice. Niall wonders what he sees in the lake; if it’s his Grandad smiling back at him, or if he’s fishing for something meaningful. Like Niall when he’s sending the stars out there in hopes for something more to return.

After a moment, Zayn moves. But it’s not away from the shore, no. He moves so he’s a few paces down from the collection of stardust balls he’d arranged next to him. Zayn looks back at Niall with a question brightening his eyes, a corner of his mouth ticking up in a smile. Niall smiles back and moves to the pile.

He arranges them in a line, smaller than his spread out formation earlier and watches as Zayn watches him almost eagerly. It occurs to Niall that this is as new to Zayn as Zayn catching stars was to Niall. It’s exciting and scary and it makes Niall want to laugh at the absurdity and wonderfulness of it all.

So, he swings and he hears Zayn's breath hitch, eyes following the curve of the ball until its gleam adds to the lake before them. Zayn looks at Niall and his smile is the biggest and most real smile Niall has ever seen from him. It makes his heart beat hard and his hands shake on the next swing but it's worth it for the way Zayn claps his hands delightedly and cheers when the balls soar through the night.

After the pile has diminished, Niall sets about to start making more. Zayn seems to have remembered his own companion, patting at it like he’s waking it up.

Niall arranges the balls and then steps back to watch as Zayn casts the net out into the lake, reeling it back in with one of the balls Niall shot out just a few moments ago. Zayn scoops the ball out with a careful hold and peeks over at Niall for his reaction.

Niall wants to smile at him, but realizes that he’s been smiling the entire time and it makes his cheeks flush and his grip on the club to fumble.

When Niall looks back at the stars, they’re winking at him.

They spend what seems like eternity like that; Niall sending balls of stardust into the lake and Zayn laughs, loud and like a melody that Niall itches to accompany with music. Zayn brings the stars back and Niall melts each time Zayn cradles the ball and sets it down along the shore for Niall to swing at again.

Niall thinks, maybe he had imagined a crowd cheering him on, basking in the praise of his name. But now, he realizes that this; Zayn laughing in pure delight and smiling without restraint of the days expectations, glowing along with the shine of the stars..

This is what he’s been searching for. Someone to watch what he sends out into the world and in return, giving him back something precious and lovely and kept close to their heart.

The stars may seem out of reach sometimes, but with Zayn next to him, he knows that they’re not so far.


End file.
